ICE: THE OMEGA'S REVENGE SHIFT BOOK 3 のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 21 - チャプター 30

"The energy is back, Director!" another young skater shouted from the blue line. "Our division is taking the cup this winter with you back at the helm!"The loyalty of the squad brought a brief smile to my face. But the moment I pushed through the glass door into my main operations office, the expression froze on my face.A massive bundle of blood-red winter roses sat square in the center of my cedar desk. It wasn't a standard offering; there were at least ninety-nine thick stems bundled together, consuming more than half of my workspace. It was the exact kind of aggressive, territorial display a male wolf used when he was trying to pursue a mate in the open.I dropped my gear bag onto the floor and flicked through the heavy petals until my fingers caught a small parchment tag. Written in a thick, hand-pressed ink were five words: You remain my ultimate alpha.Ada’s broad visage immediately filled my mind.Who else in Valeria would possess the sheer arrogance to drop such a ridiculous

Two minutes later, Brandon Hayes’s identifier lit up my screen.I opened the link, and Brandon’s frantic scent practically bled through the audio. "Collins, are you telling me your line didn't receive the solstice tokens? I personally marked your den on the roster.""The ledger remained clear, Brandon. I only learned of your vows because Isabella mentioned the date.""For the love of the ancestors, the runner must have dropped the token pack! Collins, the ceremony is set for the first of April. Your line must hold a place at my hearth!"My tone went flat. "Brandon, are you truly capable of letting Isabella’s scent clear from your den?"The line went dead quiet for several seconds before Brandon’s rough voice returned. "He was the wolf who severed the thread and blocked my tracking frequency without a council hearing. Do you think the scar he left on my chest is something I can just ignore? You haven't allowed Ada back across your boundary, Collins. Why should my wolf yield to Isabella

"But what if the ancestral fury never catches up to her? My carrier skated his entire career with perfect discipline and honor, yet look at the scars the gods have allowed her to carve into his legacy!" My voice broke, a ragged sob tearing from my throat as I leaned heavily against the desk. "If my den wasn't holding three pups, if I had absolutely nothing left to lose on this mountain, I would have ripped her tracking lines apart weeks ago! I wouldn't care if the high council stripped my rank or took my life, as long as her wolf was buried under the ice!""Regulate your breathing, Collins," Lucas said, stepping around the cedar wood and resting a heavy hand on my shoulder. "The tactical window isn't open yet. You are currently in a rebuilding cycle where your line must consolidate its power. Direct your wolf's focus into our academy operations for now. Denise Harper might appear as though she's commanding the highest ridge right now, but launching a company on the kingdom exchange re

"My system is perfectly adapted to freezing temperatures, drop that bowl into my territory!" Mike ripped the dish clean out of my hand, throwing a wide grin toward the Alpha of Silvercrest Holdings. "It appears a dominant line leader handles every technical skill flawlessly. You'd easily capture the golden blade if the regional board established a trophy for deshelling nuts." From the edge of my vision, I tracked the immediate darkening of Ada Lube’s expression. I drew a deep breath of the room's circulating air and wrenched the dish straight back from Mike's grip.Tyler Dawson was burying his face in his collar, suffocating a massive surge of amusement.Brandon Hayes drove the blade of his boot hard against Mike's ankle beneath the wood."What is the operational purpose of that strike, Brandon? Ada possesses the baseline discipline to prepare pistachios for the specific wolf occupying his flank; you are his second-in-command on the ice, can't your system replicate his training?" Mike

"Multiple winters past, my claws ended my sire’s life, and my carrier transported my frame directly to a pack psychiatrist. That medical evaluator logged a formal declaration of psychological rot into my permanent file," he stated, his vocal frequency stripped of all organic warmth. "My inner wolf remains uncertain if my neural pathways are genuinely fractured, or if my carrier simply bought that medical ledger so my line could bypass the high council’s execution squads."The words hit my system like a blindside check on open ice. The lingering traces of that midnight nightmare flashed across my consciousness with terrifying clarity.Charles Whitaker had dropped the warning that Ada Lube was a killer of his own blood, but my pack pride had dismissed the rumor as a political play. Now, the confession didn't involve a foreign tracker on the border lines; it was his own sire whose throat he had torn out.My hands clenched into tight fists, the leather of my gloves straining under the pre